"For decades, philanthropy has reinforced a media landscape that favors the biggest (and whitest) news organizations, whether they be nonprofit, for-profit, or startups, while chronically underinvesting in ethnic and community media. I predict that 2026 will see one or more failures of newsrooms conceived of or propped up by funders, forcing a reckoning about how we support journalism in America."
"The disastrous closing in less than two years of the Houston Landing - which had been funded to the tune of $21 million - should have sparked intense and open reflection by the self-appointed guardians of American news, but instead has largely been met with silence. Why was a new outlet needed in a city with so many existing newsrooms, many of which are facing financial headwinds? Might some of that $21 million been better spent supporting the Houston Defender, the city's legacy Black newsroom, or Houston Public Media? While the Defender received grant funding of $20,000 from the Knight Foundation in 2021, that's a far cry from the eight figures Houston Landing took in. (The Defender also received funding from the Borealis Foundation.)"
"An op-ed I co-wrote noted that "from 2013 to 2017, $1.1 billion in grants were awarded to the flagging journalism industry - but just 8.1% was given to outlets that serve so-called 'ethnic' communities, women, and LGBTQIA+ communities." In one example of this structural inequality, in 2020 The New York Times Company trumpeted that it had raised "$4 million to launch Headway, a journalism initiative to investigate global and national challenges" with support coming from "Ford Foundation ($1.5 million), the Stavros Niarchos Foundation ($1.5 million) and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($1 million)." That same year the publicly traded company reported operating profits of $176 million."
Philanthropic funding concentrates on the largest news organizations while chronically underinvesting in ethnic and community media. One or more newsrooms created or propped up by funders are likely to fail in 2026, prompting a reckoning about how journalism is supported. The Houston Landing closed in less than two years despite $21 million in funding. Questions arise whether that money would have better supported the Houston Defender; the Defender received a $20,000 Knight grant in 2021. From 2013 to 2017, $1.1 billion in grants went to journalism but only 8.1% supported ethnic, women, or LGBTQIA+ outlets. The New York Times Company raised $4 million to launch Headway in 2020 while reporting $176 million in operating profits.
Read at Nieman Lab
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